Alexandria Education

NASA Administrator gives Jefferson-Houston students a taste for science.

For many children, “astronaut” is one of the quickest answers when asked what they want to be when they grow up. A visit to Jefferson-Houston School on Feb. 13 from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden aimed to encourage those students to hold onto that answer. Bolden and other NASA leadership spoke to adults on how to cultivate an interest in math and science, and showed how by fielding questions from Jefferson-Houston students on life in space.

TC students take aim at suspension rates and new disciplinary policy.

A word of warning to students at T.C. Williams High School hoping to skip out on classes in the second half of their senior year: Don’t. A new policy implemented at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year gives teachers at TC final say over whether a student can pass or fail a class regardless of the final grade.

Award-winning violinist helps Alexandria Public Schools play its biggest concert.

Every elementary, middle, and high school in Alexandria, 18 schools in total, came together on Janu. 7 for the biggest concert in the school system’s history: 370 students, 200 of them from local elementary schools, 170 from middle and high schools, participated in Electrify Your Strings (EYS).

The force behind the philosophy of “Every Student Counts.”

When Ferdinand Day was born in 1918, Virginia had just passed its first compulsory school attendance law for children ages 8-12. But with legalized segregation, funding for the education of African American students was sorely limited, with only four black public high schools in the entire state. It would take decades before one existed in Alexandria.

Alexandria city officials discuss goals and funding for 2015.

For Alexandria City Council, 2015 kicks off with a continuing discussion of the budget and the city’s priorities. With an anticipated decrease in federal spending, city officials are preparing for a difficult budget process.

Campagna Center program helps immigrants.

"Good morning ladies." Marcia D'Arcangelo stands in the large central room greeting teachers and students as they walk by, headed for their English classes. She is director of the New Neighbor ELL program in Alexandria funded by the Campagna Center.
"We have nine different levels here. We recently added a new entry level of literacy when we discovered some people didn't know the basics of the English language, like the alphabet," D'Arcangelo said.

Academic achievement is not accidental but rather the result of a sustained focus on rigor, relevance, engagement and coherence. At its best, academic achievement reflects a relentless determination to reach and teach all students.

Mentoring

“Can you read me the answer you came up with?”
“Six-million …”
“Wait … look again.”
“Oh yeah! Six-billion…”
“Did you ever think you would be able to do a math problem that would have an answer in the billions?”

ASC celebrates Old Oaken Bucket rivalry.

From George Washington High School’s opening in 1935 until 1968, Thanksgiving mornings were synonymous with the pinnacle matchup of Virginia high school football. Residents and visitors braved plummeting temperatures and postponed culinary preparations to attend the grand spectacle of talent and grit known as the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry between GW and Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School.

Girls from the TC varsity softball team greeted shoppers to the annual school craft fair on Saturday, Nov. 22. More than 40 artists and craftsmen set up booths in the school cafeteria offering a selection of home and gift ideas.

Mobile classroom brings tutoring to students.

When Chris Sexton noticed her 10-year-old son was having educational difficulties, she searched for ways to help him. She found a solution in what she calls a “magic school bus.” The bus driver, and teacher, was Anne Thomas of Alexandria.